Day 250 of 365

¹Dead flies cause the oil of the perfumer to send forth an evil odor; so does a little folly outweigh wisdom and honor.

²A wise man's heart is at his right hand, but a fool's heart at his left.

³Yes also, when the fool walks by the way, his understanding fails him, and he says to everyone that he is a fool.

⁴If the spirit of the ruler rises up against you, do not leave your place; for gentleness lays great offenses to rest.

⁵There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, the sort of error which proceeds from the ruler.

⁶Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in a low place.

⁷I have seen servants on horses, and princes walking like servants on the earth.

⁸He who digs a pit may fall into it; and whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.

⁹Whoever carves out stones may be injured by them. Whoever splits wood may be endangered thereby.

¹⁰If the axe is blunt, and one doesn't sharpen the edge, then he must use more strength; but skill brings success.

¹¹If the snake bites before it is charmed, then is there no profit for the charmer's tongue.

¹²The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious; but a fool is swallowed by his own lips.

¹³The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness; and the end of his talk is mischievous madness.

¹⁴A fool also multiplies words. Man doesn't know what will be; and that which will be after him, who can tell him?

¹⁵The labor of fools wearies every one of them; for he doesn't know how to go to the city.

¹⁶Woe to you, land, when your king is a child, and your princes eat in the morning!

¹⁷Happy are you, land, when your king is the son of nobles, and your princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!

¹⁸By slothfulness the roof sinks in; and through idleness of the hands the house leaks.

¹⁹A feast is made for laughter, and wine makes the life glad; and money is the answer for all things.

²⁰Do not curse the king, no, not in your thoughts; and do not curse the rich in your bedchamber: for a bird of the sky may carry your voice, and that which has wings may tell the matter.

¹Cast your bread on the waters; for you shall find it after many days.

²Give a portion to seven, yes, even to eight; for you do not know what evil will be on the earth.

³If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves on the earth; and if a tree falls toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falls, there shall it be.

⁴He who observes the wind won't sow; and he who regards the clouds won't reap.

⁵As you do not know what is the way of the wind, nor how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child; even so you do not know the work of God who does all.

⁶In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not withhold your hand; for you do not know which will prosper, whether this or that, or whether they both will be equally good.

⁷Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to see the sun.

⁸Yes, if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember the days of darkness, for they shall be many. All that comes is vanity.

⁹Rejoice, young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth, and walk in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes; but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.

¹⁰Therefore remove sorrow from your heart, and put away evil from your flesh; for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.

¹Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come, and the years draw near, when you will say, "I have no pleasure in them;"

²Before the sun, the light, the moon, and the stars are darkened, and the clouds return after the rain;

³in the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look out of the windows are darkened,

⁴and the doors shall be shut in the street; when the sound of the grinding is low, and one shall rise up at the voice of a bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low;

⁵yes, they shall be afraid of heights, and terrors will be in the way; and the almond tree shall blossom, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail; because man goes to his everlasting home, and the mourners go about the streets:

⁶before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the spring, or the wheel broken at the cistern,

⁷and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

⁸Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher. All is vanity!

⁹Further, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge. Yes, he pondered, sought out, and set in order many proverbs.

¹⁰The Preacher sought to find out acceptable words, and that which was written blamelessly, words of truth.

¹¹The words of the wise are like goads; and like nails well fastened are words from the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.

¹²Furthermore, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.

¹³This is the end of the matter. All has been heard. Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man.

¹⁴For God will bring every work into judgment, with every hidden thing, whether it is good, or whether it is evil.

¹Shout for joy to the Lord, all you lands!

²Serve the Lord with gladness. Come before his presence with singing.

³Know that the Lord, he is God. It is he who has made us, and we are his. We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

⁴Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, and bless his name.

⁵For the Lord is good. His loving kindness endures forever, his faithfulness to all generations.

¹My son, if you will receive my words, and store up my commandments within you;

²So as to turn your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding;

³Yes, if you call out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding;

⁴If you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures:

⁵then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.

⁶For the Lord gives wisdom. Out of his mouth comes knowledge and understanding.

⁷He lays up sound wisdom for the upright. He is a shield to those who walk in integrity;

⁸that he may guard the paths of justice, and preserve the way of his holy ones.

⁹Then you will understand righteousness and justice, equity and every good path.

¹⁰For wisdom will enter into your heart. Knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.

¹¹Discretion will watch over you. Understanding will keep you,

¹²to deliver you from the way of evil, from the men who speak perverse things;

¹³who forsake the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;

¹⁴who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the perverseness of evil;

¹⁵who are crooked in their ways, and wayward in their paths:

¹⁶To deliver you from the strange woman, even from the foreigner who flatters with her words;

¹⁷who forsakes the friend of her youth, and forgets the covenant of her God:

¹⁸for her house leads down to death, her paths to the dead.

¹⁹None who go to her return again, neither do they attain to the paths of life:

²⁰that you may walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.

²¹For the upright will dwell in the land. The perfect will remain in it.

²²But the wicked will be cut off from the land. The treacherous will be rooted out of it.